Oh, The Places You'll Go
by Nature.Calls
Summary: Dean realizes that Sam is a bright kid, destined for greateness. Sam's going to leave for Stanford and oh, the places he'll go. Not Wincest


**Disclaimer:** I wished I owned these two characters, because I've fallen in love with them. Oh, I also don't own this title. It belongs to the good 'ole Dr. Seuss.

**A/N:** I wanted to a brother piece. I love their bond, through thick and thin. I couldn't this idea out of my head at work so I had to write it. Of course, using the Dr. Seuss poem for any of us who go to college. Cliche and awesome! :) I'm proud I finished this piece.

First Supernatural piece, so if it's not the greatest I'm sorry. Still new with this series. Trying though.

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><p><strong>You have brains in your head<strong>

**You have feet in your shoes**

**You can steer yourself in any direction you choose**

**You're on your own and you know what you know**

**YOU are the guy who'll decide where you go**

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><p>Dean always knew in his heart and in the back of his mind his little brother was destined for bigger and better things. He was a very intelligent kid, and Dean could hardly fool him. The boy was keen and observant, easily picking up traits from Dean and mimicking them to a 't'. Though Dean would never say it aloud, he loved it when Sam tried to copy him. It made Dean feel special and as if he mattered. As an older brother he naturally enjoyed being a role model.<p>

Sam started to grow though, physically and mentally. His intellect and will power to sit and read for hours at a time surpassed Dean very quickly and by the time Dean had acquired his GED Sam was working on the same material. Many times the young, quiet Winchester offered to tutor his brother so he could graduate, but Dean wouldn't accept it. For one, his pride would not let his younger brother help him and Dean honestly didn't care that much about school. Not like his Sammy did. Even when they were between schools Sam would study and read anything he could get his hands on. When John would drop him off at Bobby's so he and Dean could finish a dangerous hunt Sam would spend the time pouring through lore books and asking about everything he could came across. The older man had no problem engaging with the teenager, happy that someone wanted to have a discussion instead of just calling him up for help for a change.

It was when Sam graduated high school though that Dean saw the true potential shining in him. Compared to him and John Sam stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't belong in the hunting life. He never did. His little brother, his little Sammy, was destined for something more than hunting down monsters.

Dean watched as Sam poured his heart and soul into college essays, studying countless hours for his SATs and even staying behind in some town for the final five months of his senior year of high school while he and his dad went off to hunt some more. So it didn't truly shock Dean like it did John when Sam got all the acceptance letters to more than twenty colleges. Stanford being one. Correction: _The one._

John cursed and told Sam not to get his hopes up, sending off anymore letters to places because their job wouldn't allow it. Sam sneered and cursed back, but regardless stopped sending off applications. John didn't know at the moment that Sam had already chosen a school to attend in the fall. He didn't know that his younger son was going to study pre-law and become the best damn lawyer the world had ever seen. No, John didn't know any of this, but Dean did.

Sam had talked to Dean about it for some time now. Dean admitted he would get extremely defensive and angry when Sam brought up the subject of moving to California. On one side he was extremely happy for his little brother. His Sammy was going to make something out of himself. The other side of Dean's mind made itself a lot more vocal than that happy side did though.

He was going to lose his brother. The only person he truly ever bonded with. Sure, he had his dad, but his dad didn't know Dean like Sammy knew Dean. And no one ever said John and Dean or Dean and John. It was always Dean and Sam and Sam and Dean. Those were the two names that became one when together.

Maybe it because of how much they travelled, that Sam was the only friend that Dean had ever had. Or maybe it because of the natural bond that being brothers gave them. The four year difference between the two boys was never a problem.

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><p>The week before Sam left for Stanford had arrived and there was a whole lot more cursing, yelling and breaking tacky hotel lamps than there had ever been before. First, it was John tearing Sam a new asshole and after he ran out of things to rant and rave about he stormed out of the hotel room, leaving the door to quake on its doorframe.<p>

After their dad had left Sam swiveled his body towards Dean and steeled himself. He was a grown man now and he wasn't going to take any shit. Dean had taught him that and now he was going to use it against him. The fierce look in those golden –green eyes screamed _"test me."_ and Dean could only accept his younger brother's challenge.

With Dean Sam didn't just sit back and take it like he did with his dad. No, the young Winchester took after his feisty older brother and cursed and even threw a few punches. He wasn't nearly as reserved as the man he grew to be in the coming years at Stanford. He was a rough and tough Winchester who wasn't afraid to get into a fight and come out bloody and bruised. Dean had taught him that too.

Eventually both young men collapsed to the floor, panting, sweating and blood dripping from the wounds in their lips.

"Don't leave me." Dean growled, glaring at Sam from across the room.

"I want this! I can have this and I want this!" Sam cried, frustrated that his family couldn't see how much he needed to get away. He was capable of obtaining that normalcy he so craved. That's why he worked so hard in school. It was all to get to this moment. To get ahead and go places. Places so far that he could have shot right up into the sky with the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. Yet here he was, slumped against a sleazy hotel mattress, fighting with the only person he'd ever felt close with.

"Fine, you son of a bitch. Go! Just leave!" Dean screamed, the fresh prickle of tears building in his usually bright green eyes. He clawed his way up the wall and stormed out of the room with the fervor of his father, making the door rattle and shake like it did not even thirty minutes prior.

Sammy was left all alone, on the floor of a motel, crying because he was truly alone for the first time in his life. His brother abandoned him, instead of getting behind Sam and backing him. Nudging the intelligent boy forward towards all the possibilities he was so capable of. That's all he wanted from Dean. He had never expected the acceptance from his dad. That was fine. His dad didn't have the ability to crush his soul like Dean did. His dad was always disappointing Sam, one time after another.

That night neither John nor Dean came back to the motel and the littlest Winchester cried himself to sleep.

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><p>Three days later John was out late one night scouting a potential hunt and the Winchester duo was left behind at another cheap motel. He still couldn't deal with the fact that Sam was sticking to his guns in leaving his family behind for school, so he was rarely around the boys for much more than breakfast and a formal update on hunts. It was Sam's last night with his family and of course his dad wouldn't even bother to show up.<p>

"You deserve the best." Dean broke the thick silence suddenly, looking up pathetically from the label on the back of the television remote he was picking at.

"What?" Sam's head shot up in confusion. The TV was cut off and the laptop was closed, creating an even thicker silence for both of the brothers to sit in for a couple of minutes.

"I said you deserve the best. You always have. You've worked your ass off for this moment and you deserve to take it."

"Dean, you don't have to-"

"Just shut up Sammy. For once, just shut up." Another moment of silence passed as the two young hunters exchanged glances before Sam smiled and nodded. "You're brilliant, more than I could ever be, and you deserve a place like Stanford. I've watched you pour yourself into all this college crap this last year and you finally deserve to shine. And if you ever repeat any of this to anyone else I'll kill you little bro."

"'Course, big bro." Sam was already up and across the room, giving Dean the best damn brotherly embrace he could. The embrace was short and both men were back in their original places, with Dean lying against the head board of the bed he shared with his baby brother and Sam hunching over his laptop, scouring through prospective groups he could join at school. Something clicked in Sam then and he just had to ask.

"You know De, I'd hate to take a bus for only a couple hours drive. Plus school doesn't start up for another two days. I could always go for another road trip." Sam smiled at his brother, hoping he didn't shoot him down. With the wicked grin that grew on Dean's pink lips, Sam knew what his answer was going to be.

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><p>"Sammy! I'm driving, which means I pick the music!"<p>

"But we've listened to this same fucking Metallica song five times in a row!"

"Tough shit little brother!"

Sam punched his brother in the side of the arm and before turning to look out the window, muttering curses. Dean mimicked the bitching of his little brother, before turning his eyes back to the road. When he turned to look out of his side-view mirror he smirked. This was the good stuff right here. Dean and Sam were always arguing, especially when they were both trapped in the car for a while. Usually they had their dad to keep the boy's temperaments in check, but without Father Winchester, Dean and Sam were just two little boys, fighting over toys.

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><p>"You ready for this Sammy boy?" Dean hooted excitedly. Sam could almost imagine him jumping up in the air and clicking his heels together.<p>

"Yeah, let's do this." Sam, slipped his hands in his pockets, but he had to admit to himself he was excited. This was his first strip club ever to go into. Somehow Dean had managed to talk him in to partying the night away before he left tomorrow to head back to their dad and leave Sam to get what little belongings he had unpacked.

It wouldn't be the last of the brotherly bonding, but with John still not happy with Sam, Sam doubted that he and Dean would see much of each other. He was going to miss his brother. The man was all he had.

Both Winchesters sat down in front of the main stage, Dean's eyes lighting up like a kid's on Christmas morning and Sam's a bit wider with shock. He'd seen scantily clad women before, but only in magazines he'd managed to steal from a convenience store. It wasn't long before he got into the swing of things though, slipping women different bills and laughing and relaxing with Dean.

Later on that night Dean bought a six pack of beer and the two retired to the motel they rented, throwing back the beers and watching awful movies from the nineties that constantly played on the basic cable the shit motel offered, while laughing their asses off.

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><p>The sun hung high in the California sky, but the heat hadn't quite touched down on earth yet, a cool breeze playing over the ground. Sam and Dean sat by the murky pool on cheap, rubber chaises the motel managed to scrape together, completely clothed. It was an odd sight to anyone who passed by, but the brothers didn't seem to take notice. They only focused on the conversation and actions of the other, because in a few hours they'd be separated for the first time in their lives.<p>

"I'm proud of you Sammy." Dean turned his head to look at the tall young man he'd watch grow up.

"Thanks De." Sam decided to use Dean's nickname. He didn't use it too often, but when he did, they both knew it was a moment that would stand still in time. In a hall of fame, that brothers kept in the back of their mind when they longed for the company of their sibling who was missing.

"You're going to go far and if you ever need me I'll be right there beside you to help you get there. Don't let anyone stand in your way."

"I won't De, I won't."

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><p>What did you think? Awful? Sweet? Meh? You just don't give a damn? :D First time, I really used the line breakers as a crucial part in the story. I don't mind them so much.<p>

Reviews, reviews, and more reviews would be lovely!


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